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Volume 23 Issue 3, March 2017

The opium poppy is a natural source of opioids such as morphine. Although they are revered for their potent pain-relieving effects, when used chronically, opioids can lead to analgesic tolerance, hyperalgesia and withdrawal. Burma et al. (p 355) show that pannexin-1 (Panx1) channels on spinal microglia are essential for opioid withdrawal, and that blocking Panx1 can alleviate opioid withdrawal in rodents. Puig and Gutstein (p 272) discuss these findings alongside those recently reported by Corder et al. in the February issue of Nature Medicine. Illustration credit: Nicole Burma, Trang laboratory.

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  • The scientific process relies on people's willingness to publish data-driven findings. Turning to the legal system to adjudicate the merit of evidence-based assertions in the scientific literature leads us down a dangerous path.

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  • Two new studies show that mechanisms mediating the opioid side effects of tolerance, hyperalgesia and physical dependence are mediated spinally and can be dissociated from analgesia. These side effects can be selectively targeted by clinically available drugs without affecting their pain-relieving effects.

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  • A new study shows that nicotinic receptors activate a particular type of interneuron in the prefrontal cortex. Deficits in this relationship give rise to behavioral abnormalities similar to those associated with schizophrenia, which can be ameliorated by nicotine.

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